A Lawo 24-fader mc²36 console joined by two Lawo stageboxes are at the heart of a new 4K OB truck that company partner ARET Video & Audio Engineering has designed and built for a Middle East customer that manages a culture-based television channel in addition to various tourist, cultural and media activities. The entity also plans to expand into the filming of sporting events.
The new OB van has a layout that maximizes internal space while allowing interoperability between all three operational areas: the main Production area, with monitor wall, slow motion equipment and character generator stand, the audio room, with its custom acoustic insulation, and the engineering and camera control area with control of up to eight cameras via fiber-optic connection, plus two wireless cameras. Each of these areas, including the racks, has its own independent air conditioning system optimized for the area’s tough weather conditions, ensuring operation under any climate conditions.
The van’s video workflow is complemented by an audio system with connectivity exceeding standard analog and AES ports. A fiber RAVENNA IP connection to two Lawo Compact I/O stageboxes provide flexibility during remote productions and reduces cabling infrastructure needed to send audio back to the truck. The van’s mc²36 console interfaces directly with the video router via MADI, giving router operators direct access to all audio signals plus the audio signal processing toolbox offered by Lawo.
The Lawo mc²36 console’s integrated DSP Micro Core includes a 512×512 routing matrix with up to 192 channels of audio processing; onboard I/O includes 32 mic inputs with Lawo-grade preamps, 32 line outputs, eight AES3 inputs and eight AES3 outputs, as well as GPIO, SFP MADI port, and 3 RAVENNA / AES67 / ST2110-30 ports.
Each Lawo Compact I/O stagebox provides an additional 32 mic/line inputs, 32 line outputs, eight AES3 inputs, eight AES3 outputs, eight GPIO, a RAVENNA port, and a MADI port.
“We’re very proud of the result,” says Umberto Asti, vice president of ARET. “This project is one of the first, if not the very first, full-12G UHD OB van in the Gulf area, and its workflow is proof that you can build a cost efficient 4K OB van using 12G-SDI without compromising either signal quality or workflow.”
